The chance of driving without insurance in Kentucky and not getting caught has substantially decreased, thanks to a new law that took effect on New Year's Day.

Stemming from a suggestion by a Jefferson County Clerk, the new law — which creates a database of all insured Kentucky drivers, and then monitors their insurance status — should also shorten lines at County Clerk's offices, as it will soon allow drivers to update their registrations online.

The database is meant to close a loophole through which drivers purchased six months of insurance on a monthly billing plan, only to cancel the plan upon receiving their proof of insurance card.

Liability insurance has been mandatory in Kentucky for more than two decades.

"We intend to take uninsured drivers off of Kentucky roads," said Roy Mundy, Commissioner of the Department of Vehicle Regulation, in a release. "People who have not obeyed existing law, and have not carried liability insurance on their vehicles, will no longer have the 'free ride' which they have enjoyed for far too long."

The database will be searchable based on a car's vehicle-identification number or license plate, information provided by the 300 or so insurance companies which do business in Kentucky. Updated monthly, it will show when a driver cancels a plan, closing the illegitimate-card loophole.

While Cadiz Police Major Duncan Wiggins said he is looking forward to utilizing the new database, it will be largely redundant for police here.

Because Cadiz Police cars are not equipped with the proper computers to search the database, it will have to be accessed by calling dispatch. Wiggins, however, said he was already in the habit of calling the phone number on drivers' insurance cards to verify their status.

For the rest of this story, please see this week's edition of The Cadiz Record.